I bled when I had my smear test — what does that mean?

It’s happened to me, and I know how much I freaked out about it at the time, but after talking with an NHS spokesperson, I’ve found out that you don’t need to get anxiousif it happens to you.

“If you bleed in a test, yes, of course, you might panic, but remember, the cervical smear test is a pre-cancer screening, not a cancer test. Many women do bleed when they get tested, but it’s usually only a very light spotting. This can happen as your cervix has a multi-layered tissue that meets with the inside of the cervical canal that is more delicate and only one cell layer thick, and when this area is sampled it sometimes bleeds. If you imagine it is a bit like your lips pouting out to show the inside of the mouth. This is why it sometimes bleeds. Nothing to worry about at all.”